Want to know how the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is doing during the 2021 WRC season? Then this is where you need to be. We’ll update this page with the results after every event throughout the season.
Round Five: Rally Sardinia
The TGR World Rally Team has claimed an amazing one-two finish on Rally Italia Sardegna, with Sébastien Ogier scoring his third victory from five events so far this season and Elfyn Evans taking second to complete a remarkable result that extends the team’s advantage in the championship.
The team’s maiden Sardinia win came after a fast and reliable performance from the Toyota Yaris WRC and its drivers, who were able to overcome their disadvantageous positions at the head of the road order on Friday. Ogier was particularly impressive opening the road on Friday, ending the day in third before climbing into the rally lead on Saturday, when Evans also improved his confidence and speed to rise to second.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia safely managed their advantage through the final day’s four stages to clinch their fourth Sardinia victory and first since 2015. Evans, co-driven by Scott Martin, started the final day with a strong stage win in SS17 to increase his advantage over third place and was also fastest in SS19. In the final stage, he was slowed after water entered the car in a water splash, but the buffer he had built earlier meant his second place was secured.
With two bonus points for the fourth-fastest time in the Power Stage, Ogier now leads the championship by 11 points over Evans, who is in turn 18 points ahead of the driver in third.
Taking three bonus points for the third-best time in the Power Stage was Kalle Rovanperä, who together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen had been forced to stop by a technical issue on Friday while running in second position. With the help of their additional points, Toyota now has a 49-point lead in the manufacturer’s standings.
Round Four: Rally Portugal
The TGR World Rally Team are celebrating their third win and third double podium finish from four events so far in 2021 after Elfyn Evans claimed victory and Sébastien Ogier finished third on the Rally de Portugal. Ogier continues to lead the drivers’ championship – two points ahead of Evans – while the team have extended their lead in the manufacturers’ standings.
Alongside co-driver Scott Martin, Evans drove a consistent and intelligent rally and was rewarded with the lead on Saturday afternoon. His advantage coming into Sunday’s final five stages was a narrow 10.7 seconds, but he stormed through the opening test 8.9 seconds quicker than anyone else to almost double his advantage. He claimed two further stage wins later in the morning, bringing his tally for the weekend to six. and ultimately sealed the victory by 28.3 seconds. It’s the fourth win of his WRC career, and his third since joining Toyota at the start of 2020.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia recovered well from the disadvantage of running first on the road on Friday and sweeping the loose gravel stages. Securing third overall, he saved his tyres for the rally-ending Power Stage to try to secure as many points as possible. He set the third-best time, giving him three bonus points while Evans was fifth-fastest in the same test.
Finishing in a superb fourth place after a fast and consistent weekend, Takamoto Katsuta claimed the best result of his career to-date, driving a Yaris WRC as part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program.
After retiring due to technical reasons on Saturday afternoon, Kalle Rovanperä restarted on Sunday, taking the opportunity to gain further knowledge and also setting the fourth-best time in the Power Stage.
Round Three: Rally Croatia
The TGR World Rally Team claimed another one-two finish in a thrilling conclusion to the first Croatia Rally, the third round of the WRC 2021 season. In a final-stage decider that went right down to the last metres, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed victory by just 0.6 seconds over their teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in one of the closest finishes the championship has seen.
Just 10.4s covered the top three cars going into Sunday’s final day, with Ogier 6.9s ahead of Evans. In the opening two stages, Evans was the fastest driver and took the lead from Ogier – who had earlier been involved in a traffic incident on a road section. His car was able to continue, albeit with damage to the right-side door and aerodynamics.
Evans and Ogier began the deciding Power Stage separated by 3.9s and both needing to push to secure a one-two result, there being only a narrow margin back to third place. Ultimately, Ogier was fastest through the stage and claimed the victory, with Evans 4.5s slower after running wide.
With a maximum points haul, Ogier moves back to the top of the drivers’ standings and the team extends its lead in the manfuacturers’ championship to 27 points.
Takamoto Katsuta claimed his third consecutive sixth-place finish in the Toyota Yaris WRC he drives as part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program, having impressed with his pace and two stage wins on Saturday alongside co-driver Dan Barritt.
Round Two: Arctic Rally Finland
Kalle Rovanperä has become the youngest ever driver to lead the FIA World Rally Championship standings after finishing in a strong second place on home ground at Arctic Rally Finland, securing the position with the fastest time on the Power Stage in his Toyota Yaris WRC.
The Flying Finn and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were among the pacesetters from the beginning of the rally, and were holding onto second overall by just 1.8 seconds at the beginning of the final day – a margin they narrowly extended.
On the rally-ending Power Stage, Rovanperä achieved the best time by 0.3s, securing second overall by 2.3s – the best result of his WRC career to-date. He now leads the championship for the first time in his career by four points over his nearest rival.
Elfyn Evans finished in fifth position and is now joint third in the championship with his team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who finished in 20th position.
Round one: Rallye Monte Carlo
Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia scored their 50th WRC win at Monte Carlo, after trading the lead early on with their Toyota Yaris WRC team-mates. With Elfyn Evans finishing runner-up, the one-two finish marks the first time that the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team has won the championship’s most prestigious event, having made the podium every year since 2017. It is the fourth Rallye Monte-Carlo win in Toyota’s history, coming on the 30th anniversary of its maiden victory in 1991.
The Toyota team led the rally from the third stage early on Friday morning, with Rovanperä, Ogier and then Evans all taking turns in the lead over the course of the rally’s longest day. On his home event, Ogier claimed back the lead with a storming stage win on Saturday’s first test. He took a 13-second advantage over Evans into the final day, when he won three of the four stages – including the rally-ending Power Stage – to begin the defence of his title in style.
With second place Evans also makes a strong start to his championship campaign, while Kalle Rovanperä came home fourth, just missing out on the top three due to tyre damage.
WRC 2021: Preview
The WRC 2021 season sees new changes to the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC team with the debut of a new livery for the Toyota Yaris WRC So far, the car has achieved 17 victories in the WRC (winning over one-third of the events it has taken part in) and 322 stage wins. After the manufacturers’ title of 2018, it has been taken to back-to-back drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the team’s aim is to secure the full set of championship titles.
Behind the scenes, Jari-Matti Latvala becomes Team Principle.
The team retains the same driver line-up for the second consecutive season. Defending champion Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia return alongside Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, who finished as runners-up last year.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen will look to build upon their promising rookie campaign, in which they finished fifth in the championship.
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